To Kill the King
by Elaine Weasley
Summary: AU of A Servant of Two Masters. I know this episode has been rewritten a few times, but I have my own little twist to add to it. What if Arthur was caught along with Merlin and both of them were brought to Morgana? Will be mostly in Arthur's POV. Magic Reveal! Rated T cause there will be some violence, not all canon. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi everyone! Here is the first of the fics I had people vote on a few months ago. I said that I would post it around Christmas, and here I am! I didn't finish my H.P. story, but I figured I could take a bit of a break from that to do this. I estimate it will be about 10 chapters long.

This story is an AU of the episode A Servant of Two Masters. I actually watched it on Netflix, and I know that everyone makes Merlin's wound something caused by a mace-and it probably was. But the subtitles on Netflix, when Merlin is hurt, say "sword ringing." (Or something like that. It's been a few months since I watched it.) So, since this is fanfiction, and I can do whatever Iike, I'm gonna make it a sword wound.

This story will be in Arthur's POV. Magic Reveal!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin

To Kill the King

Ch. One: Hiding

Arthur was cursing as he cut down yet another of the bandits that had ambushed them. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did Merlin ALWAYS have to be right.

"Arthur!"

He heard his name being called, but he was rather preoccupied with the new person who had just jumped in front of him. After taking a few moments to dispose of him, Arthur turned-

Just in time to see Merlin's tall frame go still on the forest floor.

Panic was the first thing that Arthur felt. Merlin couldn't have been hurt.

Or, God forbid, dead.

No. He wouldn't even entertain that thought.

"Merlin? Merlin!" He called. Merlin didn't move. There was a shout as yet another bandit rushed at Arthur, but he was on the ground within seconds.

Arthur didn't remember running to Merlin's side, but he was suddenly kneeling beside his manservant and rolling him over. His eyes grew wide at the red stain that covered Merlin's blue shirt. While he was debating taking off his glove so he could feel for a pulse, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Merlin's chest rise.

There we another yell-Arthur vaguely thought that these guys needed to stop yelling-and Arthur jumped up in time to deflect another blow. He looking around the clearing, quickly gauging how fast he would have to be and who he would have to fight to get Merlin to safety. But his problems were quickly solved as the other knights started to shout. Arthur winced upon hearing some very crude insults fly from Gwaine's mouth, but it seemed to work as the majority of the bandits ran after Leon and Gwaine. Arthur wasn't sure where Percival had gone, but he didn't dwell on that as he knelt down by Merlin once again.

"Hey, hey Merlin, wake up you lazy sod!" Arthur slapped the side of Merlin's face a few times as he further assessed the damage done to Merlin's chest. From what he could see of the bloody shirt, he had a slash from his middle left side that ran diagonally up toward his right shoulder. It wasn't too deep, but it was seeing a lot.

After what seemed like ages to him but was only a few seconds, Merlin's eyes fluttered open.

"Wha-Arthur?" He gasped out.

"C'mon, we need to get out of here, and you need to get up whether you like it or not."

Arthur didn't give Merlin much of a choice in the matter and as he spoke, he was lifting Merlin up, ignoring the pained gasp that was the result. There were a few more bandits that seemed to have realized they were being drawn away from the most important people in their company, and had just turned around. Arthur gauged that if he could get Merlin moving quickly, they might have a chance to hide without the bandits catching up.

They stumbled through the forest for a few hours or so-it felt like a thousand years to Arthur as he bore the brunt of Merlin's weight as the two tried to outrun any other bandits that were following them. Finally, when the two were panting with exhaustion, Arthur found a small dip in the ground that was partially hidden by some trees and bushes and he slowly lowered Merlin to the ground.

Merlin winced but still cracked a small smile as two of the bandits ran past their hiding place. "I think they need to work out their anger," he quipped, and then grimaced as Arthur pressed Merlin's neckerchief onto the wound. It had probably stopped bleeding now-Arthur couldn't see it very well in the dying light.

Arthur whirled an eyebrow at his lanky manservant. "They just did-on you."

He looked back down at the wound, wishing they could be back at Camelot with Gaius to tend to his ward's wound. He swallowed. "I've seen worse-definitely worse."

"On a dead man," Merlin said with a slight waver to his voice.

"Don't be such a coward Merlin, you're not going to die."

There was silence for a moment, then,"If I do die, will you call me a hero?"

Arthur was glad that Merlin still had his sense of humor. "Of course." He affirmed.

"Yet whilst I'm still alive I'm a coward."

Arthur smirked. "Yes, well, you can't have everything the way you like it."

In the scarce lighting, Arthur saw Merlin get his usual mischievous look on his face, as he said, "Not if you're the King."

Arthur was in full swing with their usual banter. "Well, it has to have some advantages." He grew serious again, as he saw in his mind's eye the image of Merlin lying on the ground unmoving.

Merlin continued though. "You have a very good servant."

It took Arthur a moment to realize that Merlin was referring to the advantages that a king had. Still feeling serious, Arthur said, "Yes, I have a very good servant, not at all cowardly. He's honestly very brave."

Merlin gave another grimace, and then quietly said,"Thank you for saving my life today."

"You would have done the same for me." And he would have. Arthur was once again struck by how much his manservant did for him that he didn't need to do.

He had no idea just how much, and unbeknownst to both of them, the next few days would reveal much, including how far Merlin would go for Arthur.

Aaaaaand there is the end of chapter one, and from here on out, things will take on a different path from the episode. I would have had this up last night, but for the life of me I could remember Gwaine's name. Awful. And Merlin is one of my favorite T.V. shows. Anyhow, it kept me from finishing writing this, and yeah, I was too lazy to look it up last night.

Please forgive any spelling errors etc. I am typing this on my phone, which will oftentimes "correct" me and not put down the right word.

So, reviews? Please? I might try updating again on Saturday if I get some good feedback... :-)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Well, it would seem that I have gathered quite the crowd of followers! And I know the first chapter was very introductory and not too interesting, but people...I live for reviews. I so thank my three reviewers Booyakasha, cyenthia 30, and mersan 123. But 17 follows for the first chapter? Please, if I make this chapter a little more interesting, could you drop some comments?

Thank you to all who followed and the two who favorited. I won't name you here cause I don't have a list in front of me, but I have to say that's the most followers I've had for a story yet on just the first chapter. So I hope I don't disappoint you with more.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

Ch. Two: Caught

A twig snapped, making Arthur jump slightly. He listened intently and thought he may have heard some muffled voices a way off. Turning, he glanced over at Merlin, pale in the early morning light.

"I'd like to say we could stay and rest, but we'll be sitting ducks in a few moments."

He leaned down and grabbed Merlin's right arm, ignoring the grunts that resulted, and hauled the slightly taller man over his shoulders.

"Leave me!" Merlin gasped out.

"Now's not the time for jokes Merlin," Arthur said absentmindedly.

"Please," Merlin continued.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Sure, whatever you say."

Arthur carried Merlin for a few minutes until they came to a gorge, where they unfortunately ran into a few men who instantly gave a loud shout-again with the shouting-and ran at them. Arthur quickly laid Merlin down, concern fluttering in his chest as he realized that Merlin was unconscious.

Pushing the panicked feeling away, Arthur ran towards the three bandits that were charging at him, and he quickly fought them off. But he turned, and upon seeing a group of ten or more of them coming from the opposite direction, felt his heart plummet.

He fought the best he could, but it wasn't enough.

There was a sharp blow to the back of his head, and then all he knew was darkness

Space...

When Arthur woke up, it was a rather rude awakening.

Cold, wet. He coughed and spluttered for a moment and finally blinked what he realized was water out of his eyes. He wondered briefly where he was and why his arms hurt so much, but then froze.

"Morgana."

"Why, hello dear brother," she said, smiling at him and then throwing the bucket off to the side.

Arthur quickly assessed the situation. He was strung up with his hands tied to a pole on the ceiling, and his amour was gone. His white undershirt was dripping with the water that Morgana had poured on him.

Arthur turned to look around the dim surroundings, and found himself frozen for the second time in twenty-four hours.

"Merlin!" He cried out upon seeing his manservant tied up in the same manner that he was. Merlin's brown jacket was gone, and his blue shirt was easier to see, as was the large dark stain that covered the majority of it.

Upon receiving no response from his unconscious servant, Arthur twisted back toward Morgana who stood with a smirk on her face looking at Merlin with a a gaze that bordered on pity.

"Let him go Morgana!" Arthur yelled.

"Now, why on earth would I do that?" Morgana asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

"You're quarrel is with me, not him. Let. Him. Go."

Morgana a looked at Arthur as though he had grown a second head. Then, her laughter echoed around the hovel.

"No quarrel? Oh, dear brother. I do believe I have more of a quarrel with him than you. You think you're so important. Well, believe it or not, you aren't as important as you always think. No, I have a special bone to pick with Merlin. And I think I have just the perfect idea on how to get my revenge on both of you, and enjoy every moment of it while I break you both."

It felt as though a rock had settled in the pit of Arthur's stomach. This was not the Morgana he remembered from before she had been kidnapped by Morgause. She had changed, become something unrecognizable. Seeing the way she glared at Merlin, Arthur felt dread wash over him and he feared what his half sister had planned for his servant.

With another smirk, Morgana turned and picked the bucket up, and with an "I'll be just a moment" she sauntered out the door behind Arthur.

As soon as she was gone, Arthur looked around the room frantically, trying to find a way out. His hands were tied too tightly for him to pull free-already he had chafed the skin so that it was raw.

He looked over at Merlon instead.

"C'mon Merlin, you keep falling asleep you lazy idiot! I have half a mind to replace you if you don't stop with all the dozing. Wake up!"

But there was no response from his companion.

Arthur jumped slightly as the door slammed open. He felt his whole body tense as he felt the slight breeze as Morgana strode last him.

"Now, time to wake him up."

Arthur could only watch and wince in sympathy as Morgana three the fresh water at Merlin. Upon contact, Merlin jerked, and gasped as he pulled his limp body up so that he wasn't being held up by his wrists any more. Once again, Morgana threw the bucket behind her as Merli blinked the water out of his eyes.

"Morgana," he finally said.

"Oh, you and Arthur, what a pair. You'd think you would be a little more creative with your greeting."

Upon hearing Arthur's name, Merlin suddenly tensed. With a quick turn of his head, he saw Arthur to his right. A look akin to shame and/or guilt briefly crossed the young man's face, and was them replaced by a blank unfeeling expression so quickly, that Arthur wasn't sure he had seen it.

"You okay?" He finally asked.

"I should be asking you that question."

Both of their attention was drawn to the third person in the room as yet another one of her laughs echoed around the dwelling. Arthur briefly wondered how something could echo in a place like this, but he suddenly felt like Morgana had doused him with water again at her next statement.

"Oh yes, this is going to be fun."

So? How'd you like it? Let me know! I will be away for a few days, but depending on the data on my phone, I might get some more posted before the New Year. If not, then Happy New Year to you all!

Reviews? :-)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So, when I type things up on my phone, it seems to be longer than it really is. So I will try very hard to give you a somewhat longer chapter this time around. We'll see how it goes.

Thank you all for follows, favorites, and mostly REVIEWS! :-) I told you all that those are my favorite:-) So thanks goes to fmxc17, mersan123, ravenclaw13athena, Booyakasha, Guest, cpos, mumwantsabungalow (btw I love your name), BlueLil, and AMirroredImage. You guys are great!

Please forgive spelling errors etc. I am doing this on my phone again, and on top of that I'm in a moving vehicle. Also, I don't remember what order this all went in, but since it's a fanfiction story, I am just gonna do whatever...

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

Ch. Three: Formorroh

Arthur and Merlin watched Morgana move about the room with dread. Neither one voiced it, though Arthur could almost feel the anxiety rolling off Merlin in waves, and he had a feeling Merlin could tell the same from him.

After waiting for what seemed like ages-was probably an hour or so in reality-Morgana finally turned from whatever it was she was working on, and fixed her gaze on her two captives.

"Have you ever heard of a Formorroh before?" She asked. Morgana went on, talking about ancient magic and high priestesses, but he wasn't paying that much attention. Rather, he was more focused on the pendant that she held in her hand. The pendant she then threw into the fire.

Arthur had to do a double take when the snakes appeared. Hideous heads, all writing and hissing. Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur could see his own revulsion and horror reflected on Merlin's face. The feeling increased as Morgana spoke to the snakelike creature-the Fomorroh-in soothing tones, and then cut on of the snake heads off.

Arthur was well aware of the face he was making, and had it been any other situation, Merlin would have made some sort of snide comment that was solely meant to irritate his king. But nothing was said, as Morgana advanced on Merlin. Out of the corner of his eye, as Morgana continued to talk about all the things the Formorroh would do to Merlin's mind, Arthur saw that within a few moments if getting cut off, the severed head re-grew on the...thing.

All the while, his brain was working overtime trying to figure a way out of this mess. There was an odd ringing in his ears, and he was barely paying attention to what it was Morgana as saying as she got closer to Merlin. His breaths were getting faster, and he heard a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Gaius telling him to calm down, that he was going to hyperventilate.

So he calmed himself, using some of the breathing techniques he taught his own knights as part of their exercises. Just in time to hear the last thing Morgana say.

"You must kill Arthur Pendragon."

Space...

Arthur was beginning to wonder if something in Morgana's brilliant plan had messed up, if Merlin would ever wake up.

After his sadistic half sister had forced the snake head into Merlin's neck-he shuddered at the thought of it there, writhing under the skin-Merlin had given a horrible shutter and had gasped in pain a few times, then gone completely limp as Arthur screamed his name and cursed Morgana's.

Morgana had just shot an annoyed are at him, then had cut Merlin down to where his servant now lay slumped on the floor in the middle of the room. The only indication that he was indeed still alive was the rise and fall of his chest. And even then, it was sometimes irregular.

That damned wound.

Infection.

Arthur truly didn't know what he was going to do. Morgana still had him tied up, and she had gloated for a while about how fun it was going to be for her to watch Merlin kill his beloved King. She had promised to release him from the Formorroh's control long enough to realize what he did, and then kill him too.

Again, Arthur had hurled obscenities at her, but she had just laughed in his face and gotten after him for throwing a tantrum like he had been so prone to do when they were younger.

So he waited. And waited.

Arthur lost all sense of time. All he knew was that his arms ached, and he was getting really sleepy and thirsty.

Merlin finally started to stir when he started to doze off. There was a light groan, and Arthur was standing up straight-or as straight as he could-after hearing it.

He waited with bated breath as Merlin moved from his position on his side to his back. Then Arthur sent up a prayer of relief as Merlin blinked a few times. He was awake.

"Merlin?" He asked. There was no response as his manservant rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. That was the first thing that Arthur noticed that seemed off. Someone with a wound across their chest like that would have at least gasped in pain at the movement of pushing up, but Merlin's breath didn't even hitch.

"Merlin!" He said again, this time with more urgency in his voice.

Merlin, who had been facing away from him, turned, and looked at Arthur. "Yeah?" He finally asked.

Arthur let out a breath. Please be just Merlin please be just Merlin please be just Merlin...

"Are you okay?"

A huge grin split across his manservant's face. "I'm great! Never better!" And just as Arthur began to think that just maybe Morgana had gotten something wrong, Merlin stalked right last him to the other end of the hovel.

Arthur heard Morgana give a chuckle from where she was seated against the wall in the middle of the room-opposite Arthur's left side. She watched in amusement as Merlin walked to the darkness that was taking up the part of the dwelling behind Arthur, and though Arthur figured she was laughing at his own attempts to turn and see whatever it was that Merlin was doing, he twisted and tried to see anyways.

It was safe to say that when he heard something crashing, a sound that he had heard several times before, that he rally shouldn't have been surprised with the object that Merlin walked back toward Arthur with. Really. The dolt had dropped his armor enough times for Arthur to know what crashing armor sounded like. Plus, giving the fact that it had to be somewhere in Morgana's ...lair?...why not in the dark corner?

So, why was Arthur surprised when Merlin stepped back into the light brandishing Arthur's sword? He shouldn't have been surprised. And then, when Merlin raised it up and smiled in an "I'm gonna kill you now" way, he was still surprised.

Morgana's laughter rang about as Merlin swung.

Hee hee hee...I love doing cliffhangers:-)

Please leave some reviews! And Happy New Year's folks!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Very sorry for the delay in writing guys. I had horrible headaches for about four days in a row. Plus, my motivation was down cause I had like, zero reviews...that's hurtful. But I do realize I could probably make things a little more interesting. But hey, even if it isn't interesting, as long as you aren't too mean, I don't mind you telling me I did a crappy job.

Anyhow, here is the chapter you all wanted to read...or at least, I hope you guys want to read it. (Guys and gals...)

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

Chapter Four: Warlock

Arthur thanked God for Merlin's ridiculous clumsiness. As soon as his servant swung, Arthur flinched away as far as the ropes binding his wrists would let him, and felt the slight breeze as the sword passed by.

Too close.

Merlin swung again, but this time, Arthur couldn't explain what happened. Merlin had swung towards Arthur's middle, and he thought for sure this was the end.

But then the sword stopped two inches shy of Arthur's ribs, went up, and then continued.

It took Arthur a moment to realize that his wrists were no longer connected to the pole above him.

He almost laughed. Just like Merlin to try to kill him and then cut him free instead. Well, almost free. His hands were still tied together in front of him, but at least they weren't above him anymore.

But he quickly found a new problem. His arms were stiff and sore from hanging above him so long, and it was throwing everything off balance. That, and the fact that his hands were tied.

There was a shout that sounded rather shocked and incredulous, and then Arthur suddenly found himself flying across the room. He hit a shelf, causing it to topple over with him on it and the air knocked out of him.

He was really going to be sore for a while.

Blinking his eyes a few times as his vision which had gone blurry for a moment refocused, he turned back to where Merlin had been standing. He immediately tried standing at what he saw, but his legs got tangled up in the bottom of the shelf, and he made a spectacular fool of himself by landing on his face.

And his tied up hands.

Feeling something crack, Arthur bit back a scream. But then he heard Morgana yell, and remembered why he was trying to get up in the first place.

Morgana had Merlin pushed up against the wall she had been sitting by, and she was chanting some nonsense while her hand was clutching Merlin's neck. After a moment, Merlin, who'd had a glassy look in his eyes until then, blinked, groaned, and sagged a little.

But Morgana wasn't going to tolerate that. Arthur saw how livid she was, and was terrified for his servant who was on the receiving end if he wrath.

"Look at me. LOOK AT ME!" Morgana was screaming at Merlin, her face mere inches away from his. Merlin finally focused on her, and stared in confusion.

"Wha-Morgana? Where's the snake?"

Arthur was confused. Why had Morgana brought the real Merlin back?

"You have magic."

Arthur, who had been unsuccessfully trying to get his left leg out of whatever Morgana had had stored on the bottom of her shelf, started in shock at those words.

Morgana laughed. "Oh yes, it's so obvious now! You, the less than perfect MANSERVANT of the King, and you have MAGIC!"

Whatever amusement had been in her voice before, she was screaming now, the hatred coming off of her in waves. "I came to you and asked for help! I trusted you! Not only did you not tell me, and you let me wallow in my own fear, you POISONED ME!"

Arthur was sure that by now some sort of bug must have flown it's way into his mouth, with how wide open it was.

No.

Ridiculous.

Merlin and magic?

But looking at Merlin's exhausted, tired face, he saw the resignation in his eyes.

But he refused to believe it.

"Morgana, what the h** are you talking about?!"

Morgana whipped her head towards him.

"Oh, how ironic. You don't know, do you? But that's just it!" She turned back to Merlin. "Do you have any idea how I felt, sitting there waiting for my problems to finally be over, and not only do you not kill Arthur," Merlin quickly looked at Arthur laying on the floor on his stomach, the resignation turning to panic and concern,"but you cut him free, and how did you do that? How would you be able to break the Formorroh's connection and disobey? I saw it!"

Arthur wasn't sure what he was feeling. Confused, concerned, hurt, betrayed...

Morgana turned back to him. "His eyes were glowing gold!"

It was Arthur's turn to laugh. "Do you really think I'm going to believe you?"

Morgana stared at him for a moment. Then she slowly smiled. Turning back to Merlin, she said,"Maybe you'll be able to break the hold long enough to see your King kill you." Merlin barely had a moment to look confused before she began chanting again. Merlin cried out in pain, and fell to his knees as Morgana finally moved back away from him.

Arthur stared in fascinated horror as his manservant doubled over, his forehead resting on the floor in front of him. The noises that come from him were part whimper part groan, and it made Arthur feel sick.

This hadn't happened before. What had Morgana done?

When Merlin's head finally came up, the feeling of anger and betrayal became overwhelming.

His eyes WERE gold.

But then Merlin gasped and his hands went to grip both sides of his head.

"Kill me Arthur. It's what she wants. I don't want to hurt you."

The gold flashed again, fighting with a horrible black color. That had DEFINITELY not happened before.

Merlin cried out again.

"It's making me work harder. If you don't kill me, the I'll end up killing you! Don't let me, Arthur. Please!"

Arthur finally managed to get his foot untangled, and trying to use just his good right hand-he was pretty sure he had broken the left one's wrist-he pushed himself unsteadily to his feet.

His thoughts were in a whirl.

Merlin quite obviously had magic. It was the only explanation he could come up for his servants obviously bright golden eyes. But the fact that it was Merlin, damn it, his best friend...

And didn't all sorcerers want him dead? Merlin wanted Arthur to kill him before the thing in his necked going to make him kill Arthur.

It was too confusing.

"Merlin!" He said loudly and firmly. A gasp, and Merlin's golden eyes were locked on his own blue ones. "You're a sorcerer."

A choked laugh. "Actually, I'm a Warlock. I was born with magic."

And then Merlin let out an unearthly scream, and the next time he opened his eyes and fixed them on Arthur, they were black.

Arthur stared in horror.

Morgana laughed. A quick spell was chanted, and Arthur noticed the brief purple shimmering around the half of the room with the fireplace.

"You're trapped now. Let's see who kills who first, shall we?"

Brrrr! Anyone else in Northern U.S.? Minnesota guys. You gotta love the weather. My fingers are sooooo stiff right now. It is about -30 F out right now. *shiver*

Reviews will help me feel warmer^_^


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi everyone! First off, apologies for not getting this up sooner. I had some problems with my iPhone, since my dad finally helped me put the new operating system on it, and I couldn't do much with the internet. But good news! I am actually typing this on a real computer right now, so I hope the typos will be down a bit. Also, I might actually get another chapter up later… :-)**

**So, I said I liked reviews, but guys! 55 followers and 14 favorites! That is the most followers I've had for any story, and I'm working on a Harry Potter one right now that is over 34k now. I am really thrilled. But to my reviewers, thanks goes to: BrightWatcher, nerdfortherandom, mersan123, bubzchoc, fmxc17, Guest number one, and Guest number two! I absolutely love reading you're reviews! Keep em coming!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin**

Chapter Five: Dodge

Arthur had never felt so horrified in his life before as he stared at the black eyes of his friend. Arthur had seen a lot of terrible things in his life. He'd almost died from the bite of the Questing Beast, and he'd defeated the Great Dragon. He'd fought skeleton armies, and gone up against an army that couldn't die.

And it was his best friend that scared him the most.

Arthur wouldn't normally admit it out loud that indeed, Merlin was his best friend. And he was rather mad at him for not sharing something as important as the fact that he had magic…really…he was born with it?

The questions were racing through his mind. Born with it? Why come to Camelot? Why serve him? How powerful was he? Why didn't he want Arthur dead?

Arthur was probably going crazy, even thinking of giving Merlin the benefit of the doubt. But how could he not? Merlin was just so…Merlin. And thinking about it, all those fallen branches, all the close calls…

No one can survive the bite of the Questing Beast.

And yet Arthur had. He'd always been curious as to Gaius's miracle cure. The old man never made mistakes, and yet in that case, it would seem he had. But thinking back, Arthur remembered both Merlin and Gaius disappearing around the time he had woken up. Seriously, he'd thought there was something off, well, more off, with Merlin than normal, when he'd come and given that ridiculous speech about being a good King etc. Arthur had thought it sounded like he was saying goodbye.

How much did I miss?

The Great Dragon. Arthur had been knocked unconscious, and when he'd woken up, the dragon was apparently dead. According to Merlin.

Merlin was always at the center of it all.

How much did I miss?

Arthur was brought out of his thoughts, something that had felt like hours, but in reality was only seconds, when Merlin leapt up from his position on the floor, and black eyes stared at Arthur, seeming to see right into Arthur's soul.

But it wasn't really Merlin. It was that damned snake thing in his neck!

Arthur shook his head, as if that would knock some thoughts together that would make something make sense.

Arthur really should have been paying attention. After all, Merlin was supposed to be killing him. But he was caught off guard as Merlin lunged forward.

Well…at least he forgot the sword.

Arthur stumbled backwards, forgetting about the fallen shelf behind him, and he caught himself just in time to keep himself from falling on his face again. But ouch. He kept forgetting about his wrist.

Since he had stumbled, he was a little too slow too keep out of Merlin's reach, and Arthur suddenly found himself up against the wall with Merlin's hands around his neck.

Great.

Merlin had a surprisingly strong grip, and Arthur was soon choking, trying to draw breath into his starved lungs. He cursed his broken wrist for the hundredth time as he tried in vain to pry the long fingers off his throat-an impossible task when you were only doing it with one hand, and the left one at that.

So, Arthur did a very un-knightly thing, and kneed Merlin where it really hurt.

The fingers loosened, and Arthur finally pried them away, taking advantage of Merlin's momentary halt in attack, and he pushed himself away, moving quickly to back to the other side of the room. He glared at Morgana for a moment, her face an unreadable mask. As he watched, the faint purple shimmer was back for a split second, reminding him that he was trapped in a square area, with his best friend, who was bent on killing him.

Oh joy.

His hands were still tied, and the sword was in reach. Arthur didn't think, just dropped to the floor where it was and began to cut his wrist free. He bit back a hiss as the rope finally loosened, the right wrist already swelling.

It never crossed Arthur's mind to pick up the sword and defend himself. It never crossed his mind to hurt Merlin. It wasn't his fault. And Arthur wanted answers. And answers came a little easier if you were alive and well.

And he supposed that was backward logic, because he needed to be alive and well to receive such answers.

Arthur did berate himself though, for not thinking of picking up the sword and keeping it out of Merlin's reach. Merlin had recovered as the ropes fell away from his wrists charged at him again as Arthur got back up to his feet. And of course, Merlin grabbed the sword.

The next few minutes, Arthur just concentrated on dodging as Merlin swung the sword at him. I was a deadly dance. Arthur made a note that he would have to talk to to his servant about how to really handle a sword, because the form was pathetic. Granted, the strength behind the swings was more than Arthur would have pegged Merlin for. If any of the swings were to actually connect, he would be in big trouble.

And just his luck. Merlin finally got one to connect.

Arthur gasped as the sword made a neat slice just below his left elbow and on the left side of his stomach. It wasn't deep, but it was enough to shock Arthur, and it gave Merlin the advantage he needed, and he lunged.

**So, there you are! Please leave a review and tell me what you think, good or bad! I might even try to get another chapter up later, since I have some time today...**


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the feedback guys! And I'm sorry for not getting the next chapter up right away like I wanted...and you wanted...I have a terrible problem with procrastinating. And yesterday was the first day back with classes at college again. So, I also get easily distracted.

Thanks goes to my reviewers bubzchoc, fmxc17, BrightWatcher, Crystal di Angelo, Guest, and Q.

I hope to have this done by the end of the week, but hey...I procrastinate...So, we'll see how far good intentions get me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Chapter Six: Struggle

Arthur didn't think. As Merlin lunged forward, he acted like he had one time when he was just learning to use a sword. His father had yelled at him, and said that had it been a real sword, he wouldn't have been able to pull that move off and therefore it was cheating.

Well, forget about the practice blade he used years ago. He didn't have time to think about such things as he did it again, this time with a real sword.

He grabbed it. By the blade.

A hiss escaped him as his palms were sliced by the blade of the sword, but Arthur ignored it. He must have caught Merlin off guard, because he let go of the hilt without hardly any resistence.

So, Arthur had the sword now. Still trying hard to ignore the pain, Arthur threw the blade behind him. A small part of his brain was thinking _Merlin really knows how to keep my sword sharp. _But he was grateful that he'd only just gotten his hands sliced instead of his gut.

Arthur was lost in his own thoughts again, and suddenly remembered that he should be worrying about Merlin's inevitable attack, and his gaze snapped back up to the younger man.

But Merlin was just staring at him. Well, not at him, but the hands Arthur was holding in front of him. At the crimson that leaked from the sliced palms and onto the floor. And, Arthur realized, and the crimson that covered his front where the first slice had hit. Funny. Arthur hadn't thought of that one.

Arthur looked back up at Merlin, who was now visibly shaking. And that was when he noticed it. The gold color in Merlin's eyes was back.

And it hit him_. Merlin was fighting it. _

Merlin hadn't wanted to kill him, and that was what the Fomorroh wanted. But maybe seeing the damagehe'd done to Arthur, hurting him, had somehow started to snap Merlin out of it.

"Merlin," Arthur said. "I know you're still in there. And I don't know how you're fighting this thing since Morgana said you wouldn't be able to, but you need to keep doing whatever it is you're doing." Seeing another flash of gold, Arthur continued. "If it's your magic, then use it. That's an order." Another, brighter flash of gold. "As your King Merlin, I order you to fight this off!"

Merlin gasped, and fell to his knees, his head once more held in his hands.

"Arthur!" he finally choked out. His horrifed gaze rested on the wounds he'd inflicted on his master. "What have I done? No, nononono-I'm supposed to protect you, not this..." by now, Merlin was mumbling, his eyes shut tight.

"What?!" Arthur looked up, and saw Morgana through the purple haze again, this time staring at Merlin with a mixture of shock and...was that fear?

Merlin groaned.

"I can't keep doing this, Arthur."

"Tell me what I can do to fix it.

Another gasp. "I-I don't know how to. Please, kill me."

"I thought I told you not to joke," Arthur said, suddenly feeling weak. A voice in his head said it was the blood loss-that he was probably going into shock. He didn't know how deep the wound on his side was, but he was definitely feeling it now. And his hands...you didn't just grab a razor sharp blade and yank it away by said blade and not walk away without having severe injury to said hands.

Arthur tried to fight off a bout of dizziness, trying to think past the growing pain and the sound of Merlin's pained moans.

Oh, and he couldn't forget about Merlin's own wound. It would get infected, if it wasn't already so.

What to do?

In the end, Arthur wasn't sure why he thought it would work. After all, he was hardly an expert on dark magic. And he was also not very lucid, the blood loss making him want to pass out more and more with each second.

Morgana had made a mistake. Arthur didn't realize it would work-he was just trying to do SOMETHING.

The snakes were on their side of the barrier. In her rage, Morgana hadn't even thought about it. But Arthur saw the still writhing heads and acted. He didn't remember stumbling his way to the fireplace, or taking the disgustingly revolting...thing...in his hands, nor throwing it I to the fire. But the screaming he heard, loud and clear.

The creature was letting out an unearthly scream as it died. Morgana let out a horrible shriek of anger. And Merlin...Merlin was now writhing on the floor, screaming as well, the death of the main snake, hopefully killing the one in Merlin's neck.

But what if it did more? What if Arthur had just killed his servant?

It was with that last, horrible thought, that Athur finally gave into the blood loss, and after a moment of trying to stop swaying, he deemed it useless and let the darkness consume him.

Yes...I stopped there...

I ahould have three more chapters to do, and I have a question...since Arthur is down for the count, I can't tell the story from his pov for at least one chapter. So, I can do it two ways. Merlin's pov, or I can drag Gwaine into it. The next chapter should be the most...eh, I don't know if you would uses the word "epic" to describe my writing...But I can do it either way, so you tell me, and I'll see about another update tomorrow or Friday.

Sorry for the shortness. I managed to write over 2k words for another fic, so I don't know why I shouldn't be able to here. Another good intention. I might try for next chapter.

Please please review! I love the comments so much...


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Well, what did I say...good intentions and all that. Well, to make up for lateness, here is a longer chapter! I AM really sorry for not updating sooner, but I've had a full five days of terrible headache after terrible headache. And then I woke up at 3 in the morning two days ago with a pinched nerve in my neck, that end I held still, the pain on a scale of one to ten was about a four. When I moved, six or seven. So, I was sleep deprived as well, and am still recovering from that. And who's brilliant idea was it to take three out of four classes that all included staring at a computer screen for about 2 hours each? Oh yeah...mine...

Due to the fact that I only got two reviews requesting a pov, and both povs were asked for, I am going to make this chapter extra long just by sticking them both in. So I hope the length and pov satisfies everyone!

I don't have the time to name reviewers here, but you all know who you are! I love you all! Thanks so much!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

Ch. Seven: Found

Merlin Pov...

Agony.

Never before had Merlin felt so much pain.

Ever since the whole thing had started, there had been a horrible headache driving most clear thought from his mind, leaving him vulnerable to the control of the Fomorroh. He had felt like he was swimming through mud, and nothing had seemed to make sense. When he had gotten a little clarity, he had found himself pinned against the wall with Morgana's breath in his face as she revealed she knew his secret.

But when she had mentioned Arthur, Merlin felt as though his heart had hit his toes.

And then the control had been so much stronger. He could see everything that he did, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't break through.

It took him slicing his King up for his mind to finally snap.

The blood dripping to the floor had made Merlin's stomach turn. He had begged Arthur to end it, to kill him. And when he heard the creature scream, and the MORE pain, if it were possible, ten times as much as before, he thought that perhaps Arthur had found a way to kill him in the most brutal way.

He didn't know how long he was curled up on the floor, but when the agony started to recede, he realized his throat felt raw. The realization hit him that he'd been screaming and hadn't known.

Merlin could feel the slice on his front throbbing with his heartbeat. It HURT. Funny, but he hadn't noticed until now.

And slices...Arthur!

Merlin almost toppled back over as he scrambled to his feet too fast. The room tilted to the side, and his stomach gave another lurch. But he ignored it, searching the room frantically for the blond.

When he finally laid eyes on him, it felt as though the whole world had stopped.

Arthur was laying on his back, eyes shut, skin pale. There was a growing stain of red on his front from where Merlin had first hit him, and then there as even more blood pooling around him from the cuts in his hands. Merlin stared, horrified.

He'd done that.

All rational thought escaped him as the reality of the situation hit him.

Arthur was dead, and he had killed him.

Merlin vaguely heard Morgana yelling something at him, but he didn't hear what she said.

A feeling of raw power tore through him, and Merlin screamed.

Gwaine Pov...

Gwaine had been frantic. Actually, they all had been.

Just a few hours ago, Leon had finally suggested they split up and try to cover more ground. He, Percival and Gwaine had found each other early that morning, after the harrowing events of the day before. But after waiting, and then wandering around, they had become alarmed when their King and his manservant didn't show up.

Gwaine really liked Merlin. He was one of the only friends he had. A happy go lucky guy who no one could possibly dislike. Well, unless you were Morgana.

Gwaine had been almost impossible to get to run the opposite direction the day before when Merlin had been hurt.

He hoped Merlin had just been hurt.

It was really the only explanation. Arthur wouldn't have carried a corpse away-Gwaine shuddered at the thought of Merlin being a corpse-and when the Knights had gone back to the clearing to see if they could get a clue of their friends whereabouts, the only bodies had been that if the killed bandits.

Leon had expressed that they should go back to the castle and get reinforcements. But Gwaine had said no. He had a bad feeling, and it only got worse as the day progressed. It was a horrible sensation.

So now, as the sun was sinking behind the trees, and the light was dying down, Gwaine was close to having some sort of a breakdown. And Gwaine NEVER had any breakdowns.

But they'd been gone for more than a day now.

Leon had suggested that maybe they had headed back to Camelot, but Gwaine countered the argument with the fact that the of the would have known, seeing as they had been at the most likely place for Arthur and Merlin to come back through.

No, Gwaine was sure that they were in the forest somewhere.

A sudden distant noise broke through the stillness of the evening, and Gwaine was snapped out of his reverie.

He listened intently, and then felt as though his blood had frozen.

Screaming.

Some of it an unearthly, terrible sound.

But some, human.

Gwaine had never heard Merlin scream before, but hearing it now, he had no doubt that I was the raven haired young man.

Gwaine didn't realize he was running until he had gone a few hundred yards. But the screaming continued, and it only fueled his determination to get to it.

To Merlin.

When he made it to a small clearing, Gwaine stared in surprise. There was some sort of cottage. Or shack.

How had they missed that?

Abruptly, the screaming stopped, and that caused Gwaine to panic even more so.

Taking care to go more softly, Gwaine crouched down and hurried forward. Finding what appeared to be a door, he made his way there. It was slightly ajar, and he slowly pushed it open, his sword drawn, unsure of what he would find.

Thank goodness the door didn't creak, for the sight that met him was one that would send a lesser man running.

Even from the back, Gwaine recognized Morgana. She was standing with her back to him, her long wavy hair slightly unkempt but still recognizable.

In front of her was something that slightly confused Gwaine. Some sort of purple...shimmer.

And beyond it-

MERLIN!

Gwaine almost shouted the raven haired young man's name. He instead let out a small squeak. But Morgana was apparently too engrossed in whatever was happening to notice.

Merlin, who had been laying on his back when Geaine had walked in, stumbled to his feet, swaying like a drunken man. His back was also to Gwaine, and it took him a moment to see what it was that seemed to have frozen Merlin to the spot.

There, in the corner farthest from the door, lay Arthur. Pale and unmoving; Gwaine didn't know if he was alive or dead.

Morgana was saying something.

"No, not possible. You can't be. But no one else could have-" here, she choked off, and Gwaine barely heard her say, "Emrys?"

Gwaine had no idea what she was on about, but the way she said it was full of so much fear and maybe a little bit of awe, that it took him a moment to realize that whatever it was, it had to do with Merlin.

WHAT was going ON?

Just as Gwaine was about to do something really stupid and make himself known, Merlin's whole frame stiffened, and he screamed.

But it wasn't like before. It sounded angry. Sad. Hateful.

But overall, POWERFUL.

Gwaine jumped a little when Merlin turned around, and nearly had a heart attack when he got a look at Merlin's eyes.

They were gold.

And they were fixed on Morgana.

There you have it! Depending on how I split the rest of the story up, we'll see if there are two or three more chapters left. Again, many apologies for not getting this up when I said. I'm a week and one day late, I think...*covers head in shame* Sorry...

Please review, even if it's to rant and yell at me for taking so long!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi Everyone! *Jaw drops* 89 follows? Wow! I didn't think I'd get that much attention for this one story. Frankly, I was tempted to not post this until I had 90 follows, but I have the time, and I'm not that cruel... And thanks again to all you brave people who have already favorited:-) I usually wait til the story is done to do that…And hey! Someone added my story to their community! That REALLY made my day! So thanks to whomever did that! And to my reviewers, I haven't private messaged any of you yet, but I read all your reviews, and thanks goes to : MerlinMorgana1579, CHARLES CHUKU, mersan123, Patiku, nerdfortherandom, g02sleep, bubzchoc, Linorien, and Dreamer of Foolery. Nine reviews for one chapter is pretty good for me ^_^**

**Since I liked doing Gwaine's Pov so much, I decided to do it again, since Arthur is still out of it. I'll probably add him to the character list later since he has more "screen" time:-)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin**

Ch. Eight: Storm

To say that Gwaine knew he shouldn't be terribly surprised. He had had his suspicions about Merlin maybe having magic. He'd remembered the first time they'd met, in the tavern, and thought that perhaps there had been something to do with flying plates…But he'd put it off later as too much to drink, or a strange dream. And all the convenient things that seemed to happen around them had always been a little too obvious. But Gwaine, knowing the laws of Camelot, and knowing that not all magic was wrong from where he had been in his many travels, had chosen to keep his mouth shut and not pry.

But thinking that it might be and seeing it were two different things.

The purple shimmer that had seemed to separate Morgana from Merlin and Arthur became more vivid. It now looked like something that could be touched. And as Merlin screamed and his eyes glowed even brighter, Morgana stumbled backward and what appeared to be cracks appeared all over the not-wall of purple.

And with a shock wave of what Gwaine could only describe as power, there was a shattering sound, and the purple was pushed out and disappeared. Gwaine felt himself pushed back by an invisible force, and he was momentarily disoriented when his head connected with the doorjam behind him.

When he regained his bearings, he looked up in time to see Morgana raise her hand and throw up what Gwaine thought was a magical shield, just in time too. Merlin had raised his own hand and without even saying anything, had shot a bolt of lightning at Morgana.

Gwaine blinked once, wondering if he had seen correctly. But when yet another bolt of lightning was shot toward the unfortunate Morgana, Gwaine knew he wasn't imagining things.

Unsure of what he should do, Gwaine just sat with his back against the door frame for a few moments, watching as Merlin kept pushing Morgana further back. Neither had seemed to notice him, and for that Gwaine was thankful.

After a moment of being befuddled, Gwaine came to the decision that there was nothing he could do with the two magic people at each others throats, and instead started to crawl toward Arthur, who had still not moved from his place in the corner. Gwaine feared the worst, especially since Merlin seemed so angry.

Upon getting to the blond man, a person whom Gwaine would never have thought he would admire, especially since he was a noble, Gwaine breathed a sigh of relief. Arthur's chest was slowly rising and falling, a sign that he was still breathing.

What immediately overshadowed that though, was his concern with the blood that seemed to be everywhere at once.

When he finally located the slash marks on Arthur's hands, Gwaine winced in sympathy. _Ouch._ They were bleeding quite badly though, and Gwaine realized that it was the source of most of the blood. Quickly and awkwardly, he managed to tear of a few pieces of his tunic out from under his armor, and he quickly staunched the flow of blood. After doing a brief survey to see where else Arthur was hurt, Gwaine added some pressure to a shallow cut on Arthur's front. It wasn't very deep, but it was bleeding quite a bit.

Gwiane bit his lip. He really wished the others were here right now. He could see that Arthur was at risk of dying from blood loss, and he needed proper treatment.

And there was the matter of Merlin and Morgana.

Speaking of which, Gwaine was jerked from his musings, when a loud explosion shook the whole shack? cottage?

Swiveling around, ready to jump up at a moments notice, Gwaine searched for the two magic users who just might blow them all to kingdom come. His eyes widened at seeing that one whole side of the place had been blown off.

_So he really wasn't that far off the mark..._

Realizing that it wasn't the wisest thing to move Arthur on his own, and that Merlin, who seemed to be doing all the attacking WAS going to bring the place down on their heads, Gwaine decided that he had better make his presence known. Standing, he took a deep breath, and hoped that the last few moments weren't going to be his last.

"Merlin!" he yelled. When he got no response, he moved a little closer, almost smirking at the terrified look on Morgana's face, as she cowered in what was left of the corner. But when he saw the murderous look on Merlin's face, it scared him.

"MERLIN!" he screamed, hoping that the desperation he could hear in his own voice could be heard by his friend.

Something must have come across, because Merlin turned to Gwiane, and Gwiane felt a tremor of terror as those golden eyes fixed on him. But when Merlin saw Gwaine, his eyes widened a little, and the gold faded a little.

"Stop it! You're going to bring the place down on us!"

The gold flared back up, and Merlin finally spoke,"No! She made me. I have to finish this. I have to. Gwiane, Arthur's dead, and I have to do this."

Gwaine blinked once, then twice.

Merlin thought that Arthur was dead?!

"He's still alive! Merlin, he's alive, and I can't move him right now. You'll drop the place on him if you don't stop!"

The gold was suddenly gone, and Merlin stumbled a little. "Wh-what?"

"He's alive."

All the energy seemed to drain from Merlin, and he suddenly looked more exhausted than Gwaine thought anyone could look.

"He's, he's alive?"

Gwaine nodded, and Merlin suddenly looked sick. "I, I almost-" he turned back to where Morgana had been just a moment before, but she wasn't there. Gwaine panicked a little, and drew his sword. He searched what was left of the room, his gaze becoming concerned as he saw that Arthur still hadn't moved.

But she was gone.

Gwiane wasn't sure if he felt relieved or frustrated.

A small whimper sounded behind him, and Gwaine turned just in time to see Merlin's legs buckle. Taking a few quick strides forward, he was able to catch the young man before he hit the floor, and was shocked to feel the heat radiating from under Merlin's blue shirt. He was burning up!

Unsure of what else to do, he gently picked Merlin up-a little awkward because he seemed to be all arms and legs, and he moved Merlin to lay beside Arthur. Sighing, he looked at his two closest friends, both severely in need of medical treatment, and he felt helpless.

Gwaine wasn't sure how long he was crouched there, but when he heard a twig snap in the distance, he was immediately on alert. Fearing that Morgana had come back, he quickly found where he had discarded his sword, and moved to the door of the...shambles. (He really didn't know WHAT to call this place.)

Peeking through the still open door, Gwaine waited, holding his breath.

And felt a huge wave of relief when Percival and Leon came out from the treeline.

**And that really seemed like the best place to leave it off. I think I'll have one or two more chapters, depending on how long I drag out my happy ending:-) **

**Thanks for reading! And please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi everyone! **

**After much deliberation, I have decided not to drag out my ending too long, and have decided to clinch things up with this chapter. I hope you are all okay with that...I don't know if I will ever do another story after this one in the same...arc..(man, I've been reading too much magna lately) but who knows? Never say never! I hope you are all happy with the ending! But I want to not let this sit for too long and not get done, so I decided I'm gonna get it done tonight, no matter how late I stay up! Right now, I really hate college...**

**One last shout out to all my fabulous reviewers! I am really sorry for not pming you earlier-I usually do that-but I've got a really busy life here. If only I got paid for writing fanfiction...but enough of that! Many thanks goes to-nerdfortherandom, MerlinMorgana1579, g02sleep, BrightWatcher, Crystal di Angelo, and Dreamer of Foolery. You guys are all AWSOME! And to all you folks who followed and favorited, THANKS SO MUCH! It means a lot to get that, since this is the first story I've gotten so much attention for. **

**And, without further ado, we finish!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. **

Ch. Nine: Recovery

Arthur groaned, his muddled brain trying to think.

_Too bright...why am I so tired? And my hands hurt...but it's nice and soft...maybe I'll just go back to sleep..._

But it wasn't to be.

"Arthur? Oi, c'mon there sleeping beauty, wake up."

A wave of irritation, than confusion rolled through Arthur. Why was Gwaine in his room?

And then with sudden clarity, everything came back to him.

Eyes flying open, Arthur bolted upright in bed, seeing that he was indeed in his room, back at Camelot.

_How did I get back here?_

But more importantly...

"Where's Merlin?" He blurted out, finally fixing his gaze on the dark haired knight who was casually leaning back in a chair beside his bed.

Blinking, still somewhat disoriented, Arthur noticed he had white bandages wrapped around both of his hands. And his side hurt a little too...

There was the sound of two chair feet hitting the ground as Gwaine tilted the chair forward. Oh. Arthur must still be out of it a bit. He hadn't realized that Gwaine had tipped the chair back...

"Relax princess...he's resting in his room. Gaius has him well looked after."

"B-but-"

"I'll answer questions after you lay down. I finally managed to get Guenivere to take a break from your bedside, and I don't want her coming in here with a reason to kick me out and take up her vigil again."

Later, Arthur would realized that Gwaine was telling him what to do and he was actually compliant, but his first thought was of Merlin, and for now he was willing to do anything to get information on his servant.

So laid down.

"Merlin?" He asked.

"Geez princess, you're awfully demanding." Upon further glare from Arthur, Gwaine finally sighed, and rubbed his hands over his face.

"I found you and Merlin in some hovel in the woods." Here, Gwaine paused, and an uncertain look crossed his face for a moment. "I wasn't sure what had happened, but you were bleeding, and Merlin was unconscious and burning up...there was no sign of the person who had caused your injuries-the person I believe owned the place."

Relief coursed through Arthur. At least Gwaine didn't know about Merlin and his magic. But as for what happened from when he passed out to when Gwaine found him...he'd have to ask Merlin about that. Along with a whole load of other stuff.

"So, I fixed you up best I could, then I could only wait. And then Leon and Percival showed up. Leon deserves the prize for fastest trip to Camelot on foot. He went for help. Got Gauis and a bunch of other Knights and guards, and came to bring the two of you back here. You were out of it for three days mate."

"Three?!" Arthur hadn't thought it had been THAT long...

"Yeah. And Merlin had a fever for almost as long. The cut on his front from the attack was infected, and it was touch and go for a while. Plus, he has a whopper of a headache that's taking forever to go away."

Arthur nodded, remembering the struggle that Merlin had gone through to resist the control of the Formorroh.

"So, who had you?"

Arthur was snapped back to reality with Gwaine's question. "Oh, Morgana."

"Really?" Arthur looked suspiciously at Gwaine. For some reason his surprise didn't seem very genuine. "Didn't Merlin say anything to you?"

A high pitched, slightly hysterical giggle suddenly sounded from the other side of the partially closed curtain behind Gwaine.

Gwaine jumped up and swept the curtain aside.

A red faced Merlin stood there.

"Merlin?!" Arthur and Gwaine shouted at the same time.

"Oi, does Gaius know you're out of bed?" Merlin's shamed face told all.

"I was just restless! And I wanted to see if Arthur was okay." Arthur didn't miss the guilty look that crossed Merlin's face.

Wanting to get rid of the awkward silence that hung in the air as Merlin locked gazes with Arthur, Arthur asked, "What was so funny you had to giggle like a girl,_ Merlin."_

"Uh, well..." Merlin looked away, and didn't seem to notice as Gwaine took his arm and sat him down in the vacated chair. It was then that Arthur noticed how pale Merlin was, and that he was shaking slightly.

"You really shouldn't be up," Arthur said.

And Merlin all out laughed. At the strange and somewhat worried looks that Arthur and Gwaine shot him, he finally stopped long enough to say, "It's just, I've been so worried about my magic being revealed for so long, that it's funny that when two people suddenly find out, you're keeping my secret from each other, not knowing that you both already know!" And Merlin was again laughing, tears beginning to run down his face.

Arthur gaped at Gwaine. "You knew?!"

"So did you!"

The only sound for a moment was the hiccups from Merlin as he held his sides, trying to calm down.

Then it hit Arthur. "Gwaine, you lied to me!"

"So? Sorry princess...I might be loyal to you, but I was friends with Merlin first."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Good." He said. Then, it was Gwaine's turn to look shocked.

"Now, Merlin...since you're already here, I have a lot of questions I need answered."

Merlin's look of mirth was replaced by one of uncertainty. "Yes?"

"About your magic. You said something about being born with it?"

"Oh, um, how much do you want to know?" Arthur smirked a little as Gwaine found another chair and positioned it between Merlin and the door and sat down.

"All of it."

Merlin audibly gulped. "Well, it'll take quite a long time to tell ALL of it..."

Arthur waved his bandaged hands around. "Well, who would have thought! Seems like I'm stuck here for the time being, I have all the time in the world. So..."

It was with a sigh of relief that Gaius closed the door to Arthur's chambers. A small smile graced his lips as he thought of how things would start falling together.

No longer worried and feeling happier than he had in a long time, he turned and made his way back to his chamber, the sound of Gwaine's laughter coming through the door behind him.

Yes, all was well.

The End.

**There you have it! I hope you all liked the ending. And just as a reason to celebrate, this is the first fanfic I've done I can now label "Complete"! Whoo hoo! Oh, and I did this whole chapter on my phone! I finally figured out how to do bold and italics with my touch screen! **

**Thanks for reading, and leave one last review? ^_^**


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